Can Pork Help Fight Vitamin D Deficiency?

Did you miss out on the amazing sunshine and beautiful weather yesterday?! I did too, and it got me thinking about how much I take the sun for granted in the summer (and how excited I am for spring). I love being outdoors as much as possible and soaking up that Vitamin D, but some people just can’t be outside enough to get enough Vitamin D to maintain a healthy level in their bloodstream.

We all know that the typical way to get Vitamin D is through direct sunlight to skin contact, but sometimes certain things *cough* winter, jobs, kids *cough* get in the way of soaking up those rays! It turns out that increasing your Vitamin D intake could be as easy as buying some Together Farm’s Pork products!

So other than sunlight, people normally turn to supplements and Vitamin D lamps. But you could also just go over to our shop and look for some of our pastured pork, pork lard and Good Fat Skin Care products! Start small: switch out your olive oil (which is not the best for frying) and start frying with pastured lard or just start eating our sausages (have lard/fat incorporated into them since fat is also the flavor carrier). Since our pigs spend their days basking in the sunlight and eating freshly-grown plants, they potentially have up to 5 times the amount of Vitamin D when compared to conventionally raised pork! This is a great way to help out with that SAD during winter seasons!

Let Food Be Thy Medicine…. – Hippocrates

It is hard for experts to say how much extra Vitamin D is in pastured pork since farming systems are locations are so varied, but the common consensus is that Pork Fat (lard specifically) is the place where Vitamin D is the most concentrated. And, of course, I can tell you that our pigs are outside all the time! You can purchase unrendered Pork Lard right here in our store, and use it for cooking, frying and much more (google lardo)! Lard is a great substitute if you’re frying up eggs or veggies and is the secret ingredient for the best pie crust! You don’t have to be afraid of cooking the Vitamin D out of the lard, because the chemical structure of Vitamin D is so strong that cooking and freezing it won’t destroy the nutrients!

In 1 Tbsp of lard there is 1,000 IU of Vitamin D, about the same amount that is usually in one capsule of Vitamin D supplements. (1,000 is the average, I bet TF’s pigs are above average.)

And guess what else we use Lard for?? Our Good Fat Skin Care line is made from our very own lard! Pretty much everything we put on our skin including lotion, soap and hand sanitizer at least penetrates our skin, and a majority of it is absorbed into our bloodstream if it remains in contact. (We know this for a fact because products like nicotine and birth control patches exist!) So by using our soaps, salves and lip balms you can increase your Vitamin D levels because the nutrients from the lard will absorb into your bloodstream! We even created a special soap because the weather is SO amazing today, it’s called Sunshine and you can get it here!

Now I’m NOT saying that you should throw out your Vitamin D lamp or your Vitamin D supplements, but I AM saying that eating pastured pork, cooking with pork lard or using any of our Good Fat Skin Care products (or all three options) will be a great addition to your regular regimen and help boost those levels! (And taste delicious!)

If you have your Vitamin D levels tested regularly and you start incorporating our products into your life we would LOVE to hear if you see a measurable change!

Note: There is a difference between regular Pork Lard and then Pork Leaf Lard. Leaf lard comes from the area around the kidneys and it is, for some reason, different than the lard from everywhere else because it is softer and has almost zero taste. (Leaf lard is what is used in the best pie crusts because it does not have much of a taste!) The non leaf lard, so just the lard from everywhere on the pig, is harder at room temperature and has a slight porky taste to it. (Super great for frying!)